Target and sliding projectile

ABSTRACT

The subject game has a play board having a plurality of mouths contained therein. The play board is connected to a clamp for clamping the play board in a vertical attitude to a selected base member. A vertical support is connected to the clamp and extends upward of the play board. An elongated flexible member has one end connected to the upper end of the vertical support; and a missile is slideably mounted on the elongated flexible member. A participant in the game holds the free end of the elongated flexible member to slide the missile along the flexible member and into a selected mouth for a score.

United States Patent 1191 Becker 1 1 TARGET AND SLIDING PROJECTILE [76] Inventor: Joseph T. Becker, 2 S. 214 Sheffield Dr., Glen Ellyn, 111. 60137 22 Filed: Feb. 1,1974

21 Appl. No: 438,855

[52] US. Cl 273/101; 273/95 AA; 273/105 R [51] Int. Cl A63b 71/00 [58] Field of Search 273/95 A. 95 AA, 95 B,

273/101, 97 R, 98,105 R, 102 R, 102 S, 96 R, 58 R, 58 C, 26 EA Holk 273/105 R Hing 273/98 Primary E.\'aminerRichard C. Pinkham Assistant E.\'aminerMarvin Siskind [57] ABSTRACT The subject game has a play board having a plurality of mouths contained therein. The play board is connected to a clamp for clamping the play board in a vertical attitude to a selected base member. A vertical support is connected to the clamp and extends upward of the play board. An elongated flexible member has one end connected to the upper end of the vertical support; and a missile is slideably mounted on the elongated flexible member. A participant in the game holds the free end of the elongated flexible member to slide the missile along the flexible member and into a selected mouth for a score.

11* Claims, 7 Drawing Figures TARGET AND SLIDING PROJECTILE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are a large number of games which depend upon the dexterity and manual ability of the participants to throw a missile into a selected aperture or container. Typical of these games are bean bag games and other games where a ball or other missile is thrown toward a selected target.

All of the aforementioned games have a certain deficiency in that the participants must retrieve the missiles wherever they may be. Often there is a discussion as to whether one of the participants has committed a foul by being too close to the target area.

Furthermore, the matter of throwing the missiles, in some instances, results in participants throwing missiles at each other rather than at the target area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The instant game is one in which a play board is provided, having a plurality of mouths contained therein. Each of the mouths results in a particular score for the participant who propels a missile for entry into the mouth in the play board. A clamp is connected to the play board for securing the play board to an edge of a table, or similar base member, for supporting the play board in an attitude wherein the play board has a substantially vertical face. A vertical support is connected to the clamp and extends upwardly of the play board.

An elongated flexible member is connected to the upper end of the support; and a missile is slideably mounted on the flexible support. A participant in the game holds the free end of the elongated flexible members at an'elevation and tensions or draws the line taut so that the missile will slide along the elongated flexible member toward the play board and as the missile approaches the board, tension in the flexible member is relaxed to enable the missile to enter into one of the mouths in the receptacle. The particular mouth is noted and appropriately scored. The missile is simply retrieved by tensioning the elongated flexible member, the free end of which is held at a level below the fixed end to sufficiently raise the missile out of the mouth; and then the missile is allowed to slide down along the elongated flexible member to be returned to the participant.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide an improved game wherein a missile is slid along an elongated flexible member toward a particular mouth for entry therein.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved game construction wherein the length of an elongated flexible member determines the distance from the participant to a target area in order to provide a uniformity in positioning of participants with respect to the target area.

It is a still further object of the herein-disclosed invention to provide an inexpensive game construction which may be utilized by players of a wide range of ages.

Other objects and uses of this invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a perusal of the following specification in light of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view ofa specific embodiment of the present game, showing the game supported on a table (shown in phantom view), with a participant also shown in phantom view;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a game board of the game shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the game shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on Line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view of the game board shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on Line 66 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the ball shown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, and especially to FIG. 1, a game generally indicated by numeral 10 is shown therein. The game generally consists of a play board 12 having a support 14 connected thereto, an elongated flexible member 16 connected to the upper end of the support, and a missile 18 slideably mounted on the elongated flexible member 16. It may be seen that the play board 12 is mounted on the edge of a table 20 (shown in phantom view); and a player is shown holding the free end of the elongated flexible member 16.

The support 14 generally includes a clamp 22, which may be best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, and a vertical support or post 24. The vertical support 24 has a head 26 at one end thereof, and a threaded portion 28 adjacent to head 26. A conventional nut 30 is mounted on the threaded portion 28, for reasons which will become apparent hereinafter.

Clamp 22 generally consists of an upper jaw 32 and a lower jaw 34. The upper jaw includes an enlarged elongated body portion 36 having a support aperture 38 extended therethrough. A gripper extension 40 is formed integral with the body 36 and is adapted for frictionally engaging the upper surface of the edge of a base member. The lower jaw 34 also includes a body 42 and has a support aperture 44 contained therein. A lower gripper extension 46 is formed integral with the body and is particularly adapted for engaging the bottom surface of the edge of the base member.

The play board 12 is mounted on the clamp 22, as will be described in detail hereinafter. The play board generally consists of a face 48 mounted on the clamp and a back 50, also mounted on the clamp adjacent to the face. A plurality of baskets is mounted between the face 48 and the back 50.

Looking now to FIG. 2, it may be seen that the face 48 has a plurality of mouths contained therein. In the center portion of the face, there is a circular aperture 52 contained therein; and arranged on four corners of a square around the central aperture 52 are circular apertures 54, 56, 58 and 60. An enlarged, irregularlyshaped aperture 62 is positioned between the apertures 54 and 56. Another enlarged, irregularly shaped aperture 64 is positioned between apertures 56 and 58. An irregularly shaped aperture 66 is positioned between apertures 58 and 60; and an irregularly shaped aperture 68 is positioned between apertures 54 and 60. The apertures 62, 64, 66 and 68 all have the same shape though each is positioned differently from the other on the face.

Marking indicia is contained on the face 48 adjacent to each of the apertures. It may be seen that the marking indicia ofOUT is positioned adjacent to aperture 52. The indicia of 2ND BASE DOUBLE is positioned adjacent to aperture 54. Adjacent to aperture 56, there is the indicia of 3RD BASE TRIPLE. The indicia of HOME RUN is positioned adjacent to aperture 58; and the indicia of 1ST BASE SINGLE is adjacent to aperture 60. Identical indicia is positioned adjacent to apertures 62 and 68, to-wit, FLY OUT. The indicia of FOUL OUT is positioned adjacent to apertures 64 and 66. j

A basket 70 is positioned adjacent to aperture 56 between face 48 and back 50. The basket 70 includes an upper ridge 72, with a plurality of side walls 74 formed integral with the ridge 72. The basket 70 has a pair of fingers 76 and 78 extending outwardly therefrom and mateably positioned in apertures 80 and 82, respectively, of face 48. The rear portion of the basket (as viewed in FIG. 2) is positioned under a locking finger 84 formed integral with back 50. The front portion of the basket has a recess 86, which generally conforms to the circular shape of aperture 56.

Baskets 88, 90 and 92 are positioned adjacent to apertures 54, 60 and 58, respectively. The baskets 88, 90 and 92 are identical in their construction to the basket 70. An enlarged basket 94 is positioned adjacent to aperture 52. The construction of basket 94 is similar to the basket 70 described in detail hereinabove.

A pair of side brackets 96 and 98 are formed integral with the face 48. Bars 100 and 102 are formed integral with side brackets 96 and 98, respectively, which ears 100 and 102 are secured to the body 36 of the upper body 32. The back 50 has a support flange 104 formed integral therewith, which support flange is positioned beneath the gripper extension 40 of the upper jaw 32 to be held thereby. Back 50 has a clamp aperture 106, which receives the gripper extension 46 of the lower aw.

As was mentioned above, the missile 18 is slideably mounted for free sliding movement on the elongated flexible member 16. In this instance, the elongated flexible member or string 16 is a conventional monofilament line, which has one end tied to the upper end of the support 24 (as is shown in FIG. 1). The missile 18 is a ball, having a line receiving aperture 108 extending diametrically through its center so that ball 18 may slide on the monofilament line 16.

The game is set up by loosening the nut 30 so that the flange 104 may be placed on the upper side of the edge of table and the gripper extension 46 is placed on the underside of the edge. Nut is then tightened to draw the gripper extensions and 46 toward each other. Simultaneously with securing the play board 12 to the table 20, the vertical support 28 is also erected. The monofilament line 16 is tied to the upper end of the support. The ball 18 is then threaded onto the line. The player grasps the free end of the line, as shown in FIG. 1, and slides the ball along the line by raising the free end of the line an appropriate amount above the level of the fixed end with the line drawn to a fairly taut condition, so as to cause the ball to slide along the line by gravity and approach the board which forms a target area and then relaxing the tension in the line by moving the free end in the direction of the board in an effort to cause the ball to fall into a selected mouth. It may be appreciated that the scoring is done as in a conventional baseball game, which is well-known. Once the ball 18 falls into an aperture, in order to retrieve the ball, it is only necessary for the player to draw the monofilament line 16 substantially taut to lift the ball out of the aperture and, with the free end at a level below the fixed end, to-cause the ball to slide along the line back to the player. Thus, it is not necessary for the player to go back and forth to retrieve the ball and position it ready for play.

It may be appreciated that an enlarged member may be tied to the end of the monofilament line to prevent the ball 18 from slipping off the string, thereby reducing the possibility of the ball being thrown at a competing player. Furthermore, it may be seen how each player stands the same distance from the target area by virtue of the fact that each holds the end of the string.

Although there has been a disclosure of a specific game device, and in this instance a baseball game has been shown and disclosed in detail, it is readily apparent that the same basic construction may be utilized for different existing games or for entirely new games which have not been heretofore utilized. It is readily apparent that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and changes in the specific construction of the present game without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is to be expressely' understood that the instant invention is limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A game of the character described comprising, a support frame having a face of substantial area disposed in a generally vertical plane with a plurality of spaced openings each constituting a mouth formation therein, an elongated flexible line member having one end anchored above the support frame, and a missile of a size and configuration which will pass through each of said mouth formations slideably mounted on the elongated flexible line member, whereby a participant in the game may hold the other end of the elongated flexible line member and by flexing said line member cause the missile to travel along the elongated flexible member toward said support and into a selected one of said mouth formations.

2. A game of the character described as defined in claim 1, wherein said support frame face includes a play board and each said mouth formation is an integral portion of the play board.

3. A game of the character described as defined in claim 1, wherein an upwardly opening receptacle is positioned adjacent to certain of said mouth formations for receiving and holding the missile after it has been positioned in the associated mouth formation.

4. A game of the character described as defined in claim 1 wherein a substantially vertical post extends above said frame with a mouth formation positioned adjacent to the lower end of the post and said elongated flexible line member is connected to the upper end of the post.

5. A game of the character described as defined in claim 1, wherein said support frame face is in the form of a play board having the mouth formations integral therewith, a receptacle connected to the back face of the play board adjacent to certain of the mouth formations for receipt of the missile and said support frame includes a clamp assembly for securing said support frame on a base forming member and a vertical post having its lower end connected to said clamp assembly with said missile being a ball which has an aperture through the center thereof for receiving the elongated flexible line member so as to slidably support the ball thereon.

6. A game of the character described as defined in claim 1, wherein said support frame includes a clamp assembly for securing the support frame to a base member, and a receptacle positioned adjacent a mouth formation for receiving and holding the missile after it has been positioned in the mouth.

7. A game of the character described comprising, a clamp assembly for releasable connection to a base member, a vertical post connected to said clamp, a

flexible line having one end connected to the upper end of said post, a ball having a diametrical aperture contained therein threadedly receiving said line and being slidable thereon, a play board face mounted on the clamp and positioned thereon in a vertical attitude, said face having a plurality of apertures contained therein, marking indicia adjacent to each of said apertures for indicating scoring thereon, a receptacle positioned adjacent to selected apertures for receipt of the ball, and a back connected to the clamp and the receptacles for holding the receptacles in a selected attitude, whereby a player may cause the ball to slide along the line by gravity toward a selected aperture for deposit therein so as to obtain a score to be indicated by the indicia in the aperture through which the ball passes.

8. A game of the character described comprising, a support means extending above a target area, an elongate flexible line having one end connected to said support means at a point above said target area, a missile having an aperture contained therein for receiving said line and being freely slidable thereon, said target area having a mouth formation of a size to accommodate said missile, whereby a player grasping the free end of said line may cause the missile to slide by gravity along theline toward said target area and into the vicinity of said mouth formation by raising said free end of the line to an elevation above the connected end thereof with the line in a relatively taut condition, and when the missile reaches the vicinity of the target area, the player may move the free end of the line in the direction of the target area in an effort to deposit the missile in said mouth formation, and whereby said player, by lowering said free end and drawing the line toward a taut condition, may cause the missile to return to said free end of the line.

9. A game as set forth in claim 8 wherein a receptacle is mounted in said target area adjacent said mouth formation so as to receive said missile when said missile is deposited in said mouth formation 10. A game as set forth in claim 8 wherein said mouth formation is in the form of an opening disposed in a generally vertical plane.

11. A game as set forth in claim 8 wherein said target area comprises a frame forming member having a generally vertical face with an opening therein defining a mouth formation and said support means comprises a vertically disposed post to the upper end of which said flexible line is connected. 

1. A game of the character described comprising, a support frame having a face of substantial area disposed in a generally vertical plane with a plurality of spaced openings each constituting a mouth formation therein, an elongated flexible line member having one end anchored above the support frame, and a missile of a size and configuration which will pass through each of said mouth formations slideably mounted on the elongated flexible line member, whereby a participant in the game may hold the other end of the elongated flexible line member and by flexing said line member cause the missile to travel along the elongated flexible member toward said support and into a selected one of said mouth formations.
 2. A game of the character described as defined in claim 1, wherein said support frame face includes a play board and each said mouth formation is an integral portion of the play board.
 3. A game of the character described as defined in claim 1, wherein an upwardly opening receptacle is positioned adjacent to certain of said mouth formations for receiving and holding the missile after it has been positioned in the associated mouth formation.
 4. A game of the character described as defined in claim 1 wherein a substantially vertical post extends above said frame with a mouth formation positioned adjacent to the lower end of the post and said elongated flexible line member is connected to the upper end of the post.
 5. A game of the character described as defined in claim 1, wherein said support frame face is in the form of a play board having the mouth formations integral therewith, a receptacle connected to the back face of the play board adjacent to certain of the mouth formations for receipt of the missile and said support frame includes a clamp assembly for securing said support frame on a base forming member and a vertical post having its lower end connected to said clamp assembly with said missile being a ball which has an aperture through the center thereof for receiving the elongated flexible line member so as to slidably support the ball thereon.
 6. A game of the character described as defined in claim 1, wherein said support frame includes a clamp assembly for securing the support frame to a base member, and a receptacle positioned adjacent a mouth formation for receiving and holding the missile after it has been positioned in the mouth.
 7. A game of the character described comprising, a clamp assembly for releasable connection to a base member, a vertical post connected to said clamp, a flexible line having one end connected to the upper end of said post, a ball having a diametrical aperture contained therein threadedly receiving said line and being slidable thereon, a play board face mounted on the clamp and positioned thereon in a vertical attitude, said face having a plurality of apertures contained therein, marking indicia adjacent to each of said apertures for indicating scoring thereon, a receptacle positioned adjacent to selected apertures for receipt of the ball, and a back connected to the clamp and the receptacles for holding the receptacles in a selected attitude, whereby a player may cause the ball to slide along the line by gravity toward a selected aperture for deposit therein so as to obtain a score to be indicated by the indicia in the aperture through which the ball passes.
 8. A game of the character descRibed comprising, a support means extending above a target area, an elongate flexible line having one end connected to said support means at a point above said target area, a missile having an aperture contained therein for receiving said line and being freely slidable thereon, said target area having a mouth formation of a size to accommodate said missile, whereby a player grasping the free end of said line may cause the missile to slide by gravity along the line toward said target area and into the vicinity of said mouth formation by raising said free end of the line to an elevation above the connected end thereof with the line in a relatively taut condition, and when the missile reaches the vicinity of the target area, the player may move the free end of the line in the direction of the target area in an effort to deposit the missile in said mouth formation, and whereby said player, by lowering said free end and drawing the line toward a taut condition, may cause the missile to return to said free end of the line.
 9. A game as set forth in claim 8 wherein a receptacle is mounted in said target area adjacent said mouth formation so as to receive said missile when said missile is deposited in said mouth formation.
 10. A game as set forth in claim 8 wherein said mouth formation is in the form of an opening disposed in a generally vertical plane.
 11. A game as set forth in claim 8 wherein said target area comprises a frame forming member having a generally vertical face with an opening therein defining a mouth formation and said support means comprises a vertically disposed post to the upper end of which said flexible line is connected. 